Head coach Neil Redfearn has underlined the importance of Saturday’s trip to Wigan Athletic as he looks to end the closing months of the season on a high and generate momentum in time for the new campaign.

Redfearn’s side returned to winning ways with a dramatic 2-1 victory at home to Ipswich Town on Wednesday night, a result which saw United move within a point of the top half of the Championship table.

A visit to 22nd-placed Wigan now awaits, with Malky Mackay’s men still six points short of climbing out of the relegation zone despite recording consecutive wins away to Blackpool and Norwich City.

"There’s going to be somebody that thinks they’re safe that’s going to get sucked into it, that happens every year," said Redfearn.

"It’s an important game. We’ve got to make sure we finish the season right, we want to finish as high as we can.

"I feel that we can take a good run into the beginning of next season, which is important to the club.

"The lads are playing with confidence and you want to keep that confidence in them because, if they can go away with confidence into the summer, then they’re going to come back feeling better about themselves."

The condition of the DW Stadium pitch has come under scrutiny in recent weeks due to the start of the Super League campaign for Wigan Warriors, who also share the ground, meaning Redfearn may tweak his gameplan to suit the surroundings.

"You’ve got to be wary of the pitch and the conditions," said the head coach. "We’re going to have to deal with it.

"Football is going to be at a minimum because of the nature of the pitch, we’re going to have to play the conditions.

"We’ve got to be tough, we’ve got to deal with it but, when we get our chance to play, we’ve got to play.

"We’re not a long ball side, we’re a footballing side, but we’re going to have to be professional about it. If you can’t play at times, you’ve got to put the ball in areas and play off the next one.

"The lads have done well in recent games and I think they understand that."

Wigan were 2-0 winners in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day, a game which saw United threaten on numerous occasions but ultimately fail to find the target as an own goal from Liam Cooper and a late James McClean strike sealed three points for the visitors.

"I think the game at home against Wigan was just one of frustration because we absolutely dominated the game," said Redfearn.

"We created chance after chance, particularly in the first half. If we’d have been two or three up at half-time, it wouldn’t have been an injustice.

"It was a typical sucker punch to get done with two goals at the end, when really, we hadn’t deserved that.

"But that’s football and the nature of the Championship. At the time, I said there would be some ups and downs and it was important that I was strong for the players."